The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Feb. 5, edition that Desjardins Securities analyst Keith Howlett is not expecting a rival bid for Rona ($23.35) from Home Depot or Canadian Tire. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that accordingly, Mr. Howlett cut his rating on Rona to "hold" from "buy." Mr. Howlett, however, hiked his share target to $24 from $18. Analysts on average target the shares at $21.36. Mr. Howlett does not see approval of the United States home improvement chain's $3.2-billion deal to acquire Quebec-based Rona from Investment Canada and the Competition Bureau as an obstacle. He says: "We consider the all-cash consideration offered by Lowe's to be compelling from a financial perspective. There is likely to be one more four-cent dividend paid on the Rona common shares (in mid-March) before closing. Given the tangible commitments made by Lowe's to adopt and build upon Rona's considerable legacy, and to maintain the Rona store formats and banners, the transaction also appears to us, on balance, to have sufficient social and political support to close as scheduled." Meantime, Barclays analyst James Durran upgraded the stock to "equalweight" from "underweight."